 The Monster of Fame by Aimée Duffy Can the voice of an angel heal a tortured soul? Annabelle MacIntosh enters a reality singing contest to save her family from their mounting debt. Miles Oliver, celebrity judge and the owner of the biggest record company in the UK, doesn’t think she has what it takes. She sings like an angel, but when she performs all he can focus on is the terror in her eyes. It’s a look he knows only too well. After the pressure of fame destroyed his wife, Miles swore he’d never let the same thing happen to anyone else. Driven by the guilt he’s carried for years, Miles tries everything in his power to make sure Annabelle doesn’t succeed, because he doesn’t believe she’ll survive it. Annabelle needs that prize money, and she’s determined to win it. As she fights to make it through each round of the contest, an attraction begins to develop between the two adversaries. The longer Annabelle remains in the competition, the deeper her attraction grows to the man who’s trying to prevent her from reaching her goal. Can she convince Miles she’s strong enough to fight the fame monster and win? Genre(s): Contemporary Romance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Excerpt He followed her to the kitchen, trying to keep his gaze from dropping to her shapely rear and only managing sporadically. In the last six years, no woman ever fired his blood quite like she did. Since the death of his wife, the guilt he felt taking another woman to bed doused the fire of his libido more effectively than jumping into a pool of ice cold water. “We only have white. I hope that’s okay,” she said as she pulled a bottle from the Smeg fridge. “White’s fine,” he assured her. She reached for the top shelf of one of the cupboards, pulling out two glasses. A strip of pearly skin flashed at her waist as the top rose. His eyes were drawn to the creamy concave of her stomach. His throat was taught. Every part of him itched to be closer to her. “Here we go.” Annabelle carried the glasses over to the work surface he was leaning on. She was so close, her floral scent engulfed him. “Annabelle,” he whispered huskily. She looked up at him, surprise crossing her features until she looked harder. She must have seen the feral hunger in his expression, known that when his attention dropped to her plump lips it was because he wanted to taste them. When his gaze locked hers, a flush stained her cheeks, but this time it wasn’t embarrassment. Her colbalt eyes dropped to his lips and she moistened hers. Miles doubted anyone could resist this kind of desire. This feeling went beyond lust to an almost carnal level. It was all consuming and he didn’t have the strength to fight it. Worse still, he didn’t want to. With his mind filled with nothing but her, he dipped his head down and brushed his mouth against pink lips as soft as rose petals—intending to pull away after a second—but an all consuming need sped through his veins with a force he couldn’t control. Instead of pulling back he cupped the nape of her neck with his hand and deepened the kiss. Annabelle’s mouth opened and he could taste her sweet breath on his tongue. She melted against him, as she snaked her hands around his neck. Every part of his body that touched hers burned and for the first time in six years, he was harder than granite. He pulled his lips from hers and feathered her jaw with kisses. She gasped when he reached her neck, igniting his desire to an inferno. “Annabelle,” he groaned against the skin at her collarbone and she shivered all over. He closed his eyes and nibbled her silky skin. Just as he was about to move back to her lips, Cassie’s face—grey and lifeless—flashed to the forefront of his mind. His heated blood morphed into cold sludge in his veins and his erection dissolved as swiftly as it had come. Miles released her, instantaneously jumping back as if her touch burned him. Annabelle’s skin flushed and her eyes were so dark, they were no longer blue. Confusion colored her expression and he couldn’t speak. Guilt lay heavy in his gut, threatening to travel up his throat and choke him. Closing his eyes, he pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. Cassie’s face—cold and lifeless—was ingrained against his lids and the sick feeling came back, the same as it had when he’d found her dead in their apartment. “Miles?” He opened his eyes to Annabelle’s crest fallen face. His was so numb he couldn’t imagine what kind of expression he wore. “I…can’t” he choked out and started toward the door, pushing away her outstretched hand. Once outside he gulped in a breath of cool night air and jumped into his car. What had he been thinking? He was supposed to befriend the girl, not kiss her until he became drunk with desire. Buy Link: Beachwalk Press Watch the Trailer: Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l2vmkMibok  Author Bio
For as long as I can remember, I've had a good book in my hands. In primary school I loved Roald Dahl. In high school my English teacher introduced me to Charles Dickens, Stephen King, Jane Austin, Emily Bronte, and Shakespeare. It was then that I discovered my love for romance and I've wanted to pen my own imaginary heroes and heroines for others to enjoy ever since. Only in the last few years was I lucky enough to meet some fabulous and encouraging people to help me gain the skills to make that dream possible. I live in sunny Scotland in a small town near the Ochils and work nine to five in a solicitors office. In my free time, you'll find me on Facebook, stalking *cough* following friends on Twitter, and may even catch me shoe shopping. Site Facebook Twitter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~Giveaway~ Enter to win a FREE digital Copy of The Monster of Fame! Comments are closed.
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Melissa KeirMusings from Michigan Archives
November 2019
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